


Reversal Red

by Orifiel



Category: Fallout 3
Genre: Angst, Drug Use, Extremely Dubious Consent, F/M, Fallout Kink Meme, Mental Instability, Mind/Mood Altering Substances, Oral Sex, Psychological Drama, Romance, Rough Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-25
Updated: 2013-11-16
Packaged: 2017-12-30 10:19:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,518
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1017421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orifiel/pseuds/Orifiel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Plagued with issues that run deeper than mere Vault depressive syndrome, Freddie Gomez clings to his destructive relationship with the beautiful but callous Lone Wanderer during their teen years in Vault 101. But when his inner compulsions build and manifest into a more dangerous persona, he finally snaps and reverses their roles to dominate her in an act he can never take back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

** Hollow Bed **

Freddie stirred when the mattress creaked and straightened, the weight on the other side having lifted. He rubbed his eyes and propped himself up on his elbows, the blanket falling from his bare chest as he squinted at the clock on his dresser across the room. A rustling noise drew his gaze to the foot of the bed. She was already stepping into her jumpsuit, her long black hair tousled and unkempt from their earlier activities.

“Sienna, you’re leaving already?” he asked in a husky voice, still waking up. “It’s three in the morning.”

She rotated in his direction, her deep blue eyes almost black in the dim lighting. “I don’t feel like sleeping here tonight. I’m heading back to my place,” she told him curtly, pulling up her zipper.

His heart sank at that. “But… you said you’d spend the night with me. I’ve barely seen you all week—”

“Yeah, well, I’ve been busy learning all that tech shit from Stanley Armstrong,” Sienna snapped. She still took every opportunity to vent her distaste for the occupation assigned to her by the G.O.A.T. the previous year. “And I’ve gotta get up early to make my training session, anyway.” Bending down to lace her boots, she smirked. “It’s not you, it’s me.”

If only Freddie had a penny for every time she gave him that line. “Well, when can we hang out again?” he inquired, sitting up when she returned to the side of the bed.

She retrieved the hair tie on the pillow beside his and made to leave, but he reached out and seized her wrist. His stomach wrenched with anxiety, and his pulse sped to a disquieting rhythm as he tried to read her face. Although he knew that cold look well, he had never gotten used to it. He tightened his hold on her, feeling the soft skin yield to his grip.

“You still want me as your boyfriend, right?” His voice shook with worry, but at that moment, he didn’t care if she found his constant apprehension pathetic. Despite her frigid demeanor and brusque attitude, she meant everything to him.

Sienna’s features remained neutral as she stared down at him in silence, seeming to weigh her options. In the eight months they’d been dating, she never failed to instill a sense of insecurity within him, mostly due to her unpredictable thought process and half-hearted efforts in giving him attention. He sometimes still believed she was only using him for sex, though if that were the case, he didn’t understand why she picked him out of all the guys in their peer group. Everyone knew that Wally Mack—who was better-looking, smarter, and wealthier—had been trying to get into her pants for a while now. But for the first time, she didn’t completely brush off his concerns.

Leaning forward, she held his gaze until her lips touched his. He closed his eyes and felt his entire body relax as she kissed him deeply, prying his mouth open with her tongue and exploring inside. Her fingers came up to thread through his hair, and he wrapped his arms around her slender waist, pulling her closer and trying to press her against him. She resisted his insistent urging, but brought one hand down beneath the blanket to stroke his stiffening cock. He groaned against her, moving his mouth to her jaw and nipping at the delicate bone structure as she fondled him. Even though they’d already fucked several times the previous evening, he was hard as a rock within a minute.

“Only my boyfriend would get this kind of treatment,” she murmured, her sultry words the closest she’d ever come to reassuring him.

Freddie’s breath hitched when she began pumping him, his rigid shaft growing hotter from the friction of her palm. He dug his nails into her jumpsuit, moaning her name as she whispered filthy things into his ear. She was bending over him, dominant, always the dominant one in every aspect of their relationship. Her tongue traced his earlobe and sent a shiver down his spine as she maintained the speed of her hand sliding up and down his member. He panted from the sensations, feeling the tautness winding in his lower abdomen. She licked down the side of his neck and bit down on his flesh, sucking hard and leaving a large hickey.

“God, Sienna… come here and let me fuck you,” he rasped, yanking at her zipper, wanting to delve between her legs, blow his load inside her.

But she stopped all her ministrations, and he whimpered at the loss of stimulation as she removed her hands from him and straightened. The shadows cast part of her face in darkness, but the illuminated half conveyed irritation and disapproval. Reaching up to tuck tendrils of black hair behind her ear, she pinned him with a stony glare.

“And here I was giving you a parting jerk when I could’ve just walked out,” she remarked. “Not good enough for you, Freddie?”

His cock twitched in protest, and he scrambled to his knees on the mattress, desperate to fix his error. “I’m sorry, it’s just… you know I always want you. And what you do to me… it’s amazing. I’m not ungrateful, really. I didn’t mean to—”

“All right,” she cut in with an impatient sigh, placing her palms on his chest. “Just shut up and lie back.”

Freddie did as told, lying back down with a sharp intake of air when her fingers returned to wrap around him. Her strokes started out slowly this time, and his eyes rolled back when she leaned over him, brushing her lips against the contours of his chest before grazing his left nipple with her teeth. His hands fisted into the blanket at his sides, not daring to touch her and risk pissing her off even more. The heat collected in his groin again, building up the tension as she worked him faster and faster, his entire cock becoming slick with pre-cum.

His mind swam with her image, the pleasure spreading through him as he once again considered how lucky of a bastard he was to have this girl to himself. Her personality could use some work, but she was a beauty and an unrivaled talent in the bedroom. Long hair swept over his skin as she moved up and captured his lips again. His gasp caught in his throat when she shifted one of the fingers gripping him, running a blunt nail over the sensitive underside of his shaft as she continued to pump vigorously.

And once she sank her canines into his lower lip hard enough to draw blood, it undid him.

With a strangled cry, he exploded all over himself, long spurts of semen spattering his torso and the sheets. She milked him with a few more thrusts of her hand, squeezing and clenching until he ran dry. He lay there after she released him, his dick slapping against his stomach as he tried to catch his breath. That was… incredible.

When he turned to peer at Sienna, she had just finished lapping up the cum on her fingers, and his erection almost throbbed back to life at the lewd and enticing sight. But her expression appeared as impassive as ever, and she bid him a short good night before pivoting on her heel and striding toward the door. He shot up to a sitting position, his gratified bliss evaporating.

“Sienna?”

She paused at the doorway and glanced at him over her shoulder. “Get some sleep, Freddie.” And with that, she disappeared into the dark hallway of his apartment.

The anxiety welled up again, and his chest ached with sudden emptiness as he grabbed a few tissues from his nightstand and cleaned himself off. Once he discarded them in the nearby waste bin, the trembling started in his hands. Clumsily, he reached for his pills and the glass of water he kept next to the bed. Taking two, he willed the turmoil away, forced himself to calm down.

_What’s the matter, Freddie-boy? Worried your gal’s not into you? That’s old news, buddy._

“Shut up,” he muttered to no one, replacing the cap on the pill bottle and tossing it to the floor.

Sienna probably cared about him in her own unspoken way.

Maybe.

x-x-x-x-x

Freddie could barely look the physician in the eye as the older man finished the examination and wrote down a renewed prescription for his antianxiety medication.

“All right, son. Here you are. Just… try and take it easy,” James Bordeaux suggested, seeming to mistake Freddie’s reddened ears for overexertion.

Though “overexertion” could technically apply to the effects of Freddie’s activities with the good doctor’s daughter.

“Thanks, sir,” Freddie mumbled as he took the slip of paper and hopped off the metal table. Walking just a tad too quickly out of the clinic, he ignored Jonas Palmer’s curious stare and stuffed the prescription into his pocket. Upon reaching the empty corridor, he stopped to breathe a sigh of relief.

It wasn’t that he and Sienna had been hiding their dating status; he just found it somewhat awkward that he happened to be banging the girl whose father was in charge of his healthcare.

Exhaling wearily, he wandered down the bright hallway and adjusted the collar of his Tunnel Snake jacket, which Butch DeLoria had recently bestowed to him. Butch and the gang were likely off causing trouble somewhere, and Freddie knew he’d have to make an appearance during one of their stunts soon to stay in their good favor. He thrived on the Tunnel Snake leader’s acceptance, hooked on the rush of praise and positive reinforcement from his friends. Sure, it worried his folks, but after spending the majority of his adolescence as an outcast due to his brutish looks and below average intellect, he was just glad to find approval somewhere.

His eyes flickered to the time on his Pip-Boy, and he brightened when he realized Sienna would be heading out of her training session and into the electronics maintenance room right about now. With any luck, she’d be alone and might welcome his company. He changed course for the lower levels of the Vault, briefly wondering if his less than stellar G.O.A.T. scores would ever be sorted out enough for administration to assign him a profession. Until then, he might as well enjoy all his free time.

Susie Mack and Christine Kendall passed him on the stairwell as he headed down. The former sent him a peeved glower while the latter didn’t even seem to notice him. He averted his eyes and kept descending the stairs, sensing Susie’s persisting grudge against him for turning her down when she’d asked him out. Sienna wasn’t exactly a hot commodity among their peers because of her unsettling personality, and losing out to the ice queen had been a proverbial slap in the face as far as Susie was concerned. At least, that was the word circulating around amidst all the Vault gossip.

Freddie frowned to himself as he continued his trek. He hadn’t meant to offend Susie like that, but he couldn’t help his long-time crush on Sienna. She stood out from the other girls not only in her exotic features, but also in her don’t-take-shit-from-no-one mentality. She had been fist-fighting rivals with Butch since childhood, the only girl who had beaten him up on numerous occasions. Wally demonstrated more interest in her and her father’s Vault status rather than her as a person, but he made no secret of his desire for that toned and tight body. As for Freddie…

He, too, had been lured in by her physical appearance, but his attraction had taken root during one of his nervous breakdowns. It had come from out of nowhere, striking when he’d been crossing the atrium on an errand. One moment he had been delivering a stack of papers, and the next he had dropped them in the middle of the floor, all his vitals in overdrive. Heart racing, palms clammy, vision darkening, he had fallen to one knee, clutching his head. The atrium walls had appeared to close in on him, and he would have passed out right there if it hadn’t been for her.

“Just breathe,” Sienna’s honey-like voice had commanded in his ear.

She talked him through it, staying with him until he pulled himself together.

He fell for her after that.

And it had been a surprise when she’d accepted his later request to date each other. To this day, he still wasn’t sure why she agreed to go out with an ape like him, but he never took her for granted. Count his blessings, as he liked to say.

Freddie slicked back his hair when he emerged into the corridor leading to his destination. The distant hum of machinery echoed over the metal walls as he strode toward the room at the end. Personally, he would have been happy with an assignment as a jukebox technician, especially since he had always wanted a personal radio to play music in his room. However, he didn’t have the brains for learning his way around the components of electronics like Sienna did, and she’d scoffed at his wish for that type of device. The solitude down here was something he could get used to, but he knew she had been hoping to get an engineering position like Paul Hannon. Even so, the fact that she was now a mechanic impressed him to no end.

His boots fell lightly on the polished floor as he approached the maintenance room, a ready grin on his face. But as soon as he lifted an arm to hit the door switch, he paused. Over the mechanical sounds, he heard two distinct voices inside.

“So is there a reason you’re bothering me while I’m trying to get my work done?” Sienna’s muffled words penetrated the metal door, the annoyance clear in her tone.

“Like I said, when are you going to dump Freddie and give me a shot?” someone else, a male, demanded.

Freddie stiffened when he recognized the sharp timbre. _Wally._

“Maybe when you stop being a pain in the ass,” Sienna fired back. “I know you’re only after me for the prestige of getting with the Vault doctor’s kid or some shit, but newsflash: I work maintenance. There’s no status here for you, Wally. So scram.”

“Who the hell said that’s what I was after? It’s you I want.”

_Jeez, man. Some friend you are, trying to move in on my girl._

“Well, I already have a boyfriend so I’m not interested. For an irritatingly smart guy like yourself, you’re pretty fucking stupid for not getting that through your head.”

Freddie perked back up a little at her fidelity. He’d had his reservations about her loyalty to him, but hearing this helped to ease his mind. People could call her a bitch, but at least she wasn’t a cheater or a slut.

“At least answer me this. Why are you even with Freddie?” Wally pressed.

Half a minute went by without a response. Freddie’s stomach twisted again as the familiar weight of self-doubt hit him full force. His fingers clamped onto the hem of his jacket, wringing the material in one of his nervous mannerisms. This question was one he had been wondering himself, but never had the guts to ask.

Finally, Sienna answered. “Because he’s a safe bet.”

Freddie blinked in confusion, a sentiment Wally seemed to share.

“What’s that even supposed to mean?” the other Tunnel Snake asked her.

“It means he’s safe. The dude has so many anxiety issues that just looking at him wrong gets him unhinged, but he’s so passive and dim-witted that he’ll pretty much go along with anything I say. He’s harmless.”

That… stung. A stabbing sensation spread out from beneath his sternum as his idyllic vision of his misunderstood girlfriend shattered. The coldness permeated her actions through and through, and while he’d been aware that she didn’t share his feelings, he’d had no idea this was what she truly thought of him.

Wally sounded unconvinced. “And this is ideal boyfriend material how?”

“I guess when you put it that way, he’s not. But when he asked me out with those big brown eyes, even I couldn’t refuse.”

“So it’s basically a pity relationship.”

Freddie’s knuckles went white, and his head reeled as bile rose in his throat. _Say no, Sienna. Say that even though I’m boring, I’m a nice guy. Say that you’re with me because you wanted to be…_

Her harsh reply denied him that reprieve. “If that’s what you wanna call it, sure.”

x-x-x-x-x

He leaned over the bathroom sink and focused on the spots of soap scum on the faucet as he tried to stop the turbulent waves of unease coursing through his psyche. A prickling notion knocked at the base of his skull, but he pushed it back, forbidding it from taking over. He employed all anti-stress techniques, from cadenced breathing to slow counting. They accomplished little, for he still cringed at the conversation reverberating in his memory.

The truth of Sienna’s perspective had left him edgy, and he had to leave the lower level and hurry all the way back to his apartment before anyone witnessed his unstable state. It shouldn’t have impacted him to that extent, but his reaction only proved how attached he’d become to her. His emotions rode on the border between adoration and fixation, and even he had no logical explanation for the development of that complex.

It simply existed.

Jittery fingertips pressed against the glass of the mirror, though he kept his line of sight lowered.

_Tsk, tsk, Freddie-boy. Getting this worked up over some broad. Don’t worry, she’ll get what’s coming to her._

“No,” he said, the gears reversing in his head. “I knew this about Sienna when I asked her out. It’s just how she is, and I can’t blame her for being herself and having her own viewpoint.”

_Yeah, sure. She’s toying with you, using you like a goddamn sex toy. She’s never gonna love you. She’s never gonna care about you._

He stilled. “It’s… fine. This was kind of expected. It’s okay if she doesn’t like me that way.”

_Admit it. You’re pissed as hell. You want her to see you as something more than some passive, dim-witted punk? Show her she’s wrong. Teach her a lesson._

“No, and I’m not angry. I love her, and that’s all that matters.”

_Don’t believe you’re fucking furious? Take a good look at yourself._

His eyes lifted to the mirror. “I’m not angry, I…”

All he saw was red.


	2. Chapter 2

** Illusion Dead **

Freddie ran his tongue over the soft wet folds and licked his way up to the sensitive nub, teasing and sucking it so hard that she cried out in a pitch he rarely heard. Her hands fisted in his hair, messing up the pompadour style as she pulled him closer against her cunt. He didn’t mind the forcefulness, only felt himself grow harder at the sound of her desperate panting. His tongue dragged circles around her clit as he pushed two fingers deep inside her, and she almost bucked right off her seat on the maintenance counter at the penetration.

“Fuck,” she gasped, arching her back as he curled his fingertips upward to stroke her sweet core.

He continued to stimulate her diligently, his free hand traveling over the smooth skin of her leg before settling on her stomach to touch the silver barbell of her navel piercing. She moaned when he nipped at her hood, his fingers thrusting in and out of her in a steady rhythm. Her breaths came shorter as she neared her peak, and she released his hair to grip the edges of the counter. Finally, after he switched up his licking motion to lap at her roughly, her orgasm hit. With a sharp intake of air, she wrapped her legs around his neck and shuddered against him, clenching and flooding his fingers with a surge of moisture.

Freddie lifted his head from the junction of her thighs, grinning and wiping his mouth after the climax finished rocking her body. She settled back against the wall, sated and spent, and he rose to brace his hands on either side of her on the counter. Her modest breasts heaved as she caught her breath, strands of long black hair plastered to the perspiration on her torso. He leaned forward and nuzzled her neck, basking in her scent while she allowed the contact.

“Did you like that, baby?” he growled softly in her ear while running his left palm down to her ankle, from which her panties hung.

She cleared her throat when he drew back to gaze at her, attempting to compose herself even though her face was flushed with satisfaction. “You’re decent,” she acknowledged. “And you’ve been getting better.”

He smiled and reached up to brush her bangs from her forehead. “You’re beautiful when you’re moaning for me, you know.”

Sienna’s expression closed off at that. “Beautiful, huh?”

Freddie paused, wondering if he’d said something wrong. “Well, it’s true. I’m lucky as hell to be dating you.”

“Hmm. Interesting,” was her only response.

He stroked his thumb along her cheekbone, doubting he’d ever figure out the puzzle known as his girlfriend. She stared at some spot on the shoulder of his jacket, seemingly deep in thought as he watched her. Even sitting naked on this counter, fully exposed before him, she showed no vulnerability. Hickeys dotted the expanse of her chest—his own handiwork in a compulsive need to lay claim to her—yet she appeared unattainable, untouched. It was both striking and frustrating. He admired her independence and perpetual assertion that she was her own person, but at the same time, he wanted her to be his.

And only his.

And maybe deep down, he wanted her to yield to him.

She glanced around the dim electronics room. “I should probably get back to work, though. Paul’s coming down later to help me out with something, and I’d rather you not be here.”

His eyebrows shot up at once. “What? What do you mean by that? And what is he helping you out with?”

In the three weeks since Freddie first overheard the conversation between her and Wally, he had managed to bury the resulting mental havoc. But now, listening to her bluntly dismiss him so she could be alone with another guy provoked another bout of trepidation. He frowned at her, waiting for her answer.

Sienna gave him an irritated look. “A project I’m having trouble with, okay? That’s all.”

Her vague words roused his suspicion and hardened his jaw. And as his patience wore thin, the dark side of his mentality reared its ugly head.

“What the hell, Sienna?” Freddie straightened to his full height, towering over her. “You expect me to just take that at face value and fuck off somewhere else?”

She pushed off from the wall and sat up, her spine growing rigid as she glared back at him. “That’s exactly what I expect you to do.”

He wrestled with himself for a few moments, his eyes clashing with hers as they faced off in a mute battle of wits. Mild surprise flashed across her features after a while, as this marked the first instance he remained resilient following one of her reprimands. An inner instinct drove him this time, fueling the pent-up frustration and displeasure at this facet of her personality. He made an effort to keep it in check, but one glimpse at the arrogance in her posture, the contradictive allure of her nude body, and he gave in.

Sienna issued a startled sound when he closed in on her. Reaching around to grab her hair and yank her head back, he brought his lips to her throat and kissed the warm flesh. The fingers of his other hand came up to clutch at one supple breast, squeezing it in a painful grip. She tried to writhe out of his grasp and shove him away, but he refused to budge, using his muscular advantage to stay solidly in place. A small taste of power entered his consciousness when he grew aware of the difference in their statures, of how much he dwarfed her in size when she was below him. He ground his clothed erection against her sex on the edge of the counter, moving his hand from her breast to pull down the zipper of his jumpsuit.

“Freddie,” she hissed in a gruff voice.

“Say my name like that again,” he grunted, about to whip out his dick. “Say it when I’m sliding into you.”

“Either you cut that out now or I cut you off for good.”

Her sharp warning pierced through the wanton haze that had clouded his judgment. He stilled as the animalistic urge halted, dissipated, and left him stunned at his own actions. Within a few seconds, he released her and withdrew, chest tightening in horror when he realized what he was doing. She glowered at him, looking angrier than he’d ever seen her.

“I-I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me,” he stammered as fear replaced the fury that had consumed him not one minute ago. “I just—”

“So this is how it’s going to be? I say something you don’t like, and you pounce me?” she demanded.

He blanched. “No. No, it’s not like that at all. I… Sienna, just tell me what to do to fix it,” he begged, falling into the habitual mode of appeasing her. “Just don’t break up with me. Please.”

Her blue eyes still fired off livid sparks, but the flat line of her mouth softened a bit. “Is this relationship that important to you?”

“Yeah, of course it is. I didn’t mean what I was doing just now. I’ll make it up to you. I’ll do anything—”

A hand went to the top of his head and pushed him down between her legs again.

“Then learn your place. Get down there and show me you’re sorry,” Sienna ordered, lust overtaking the remnants of her wrath as she brought the situation under her own terms. “On your knees. That’s where you belong.”

x-x-x-x-x

Freddie grimaced at the heap of Mentats, Jet, and Buffout piled in a box on his bedroom floor. When Butch had convinced him to hide the chems at his place while security searched the DeLoria residence for illegal substances again, he hadn’t known just how much contraband comprised the stash. As the son of a security officer, Freddie now found himself tasked with desperately hiding his new temporary possessions from his father.

He lifted the box and padded over to his closet, shoving the thing in the far corner and covering it with several articles of clothing. Once certain of its concealment, he shut the door and kicked all his dirty laundry in front of it for good measure. At the very least, his mother would be too disgusted to go anywhere near that section of his room. His father, on the other hand…

“Freddie?” Herman Gomez called, his heavy footsteps approaching from the hallway.

Freddie jolted and leaped on his bed, snatching his old algebra textbook and flipping it open to a page that may as well have been written in a foreign language, for all he understood of it. His father appeared in the doorway, having changed out of his security uniform and into a standard Vault 101 jumpsuit. Herman opened his mouth to say something, but he zoomed in on the textbook, which seemed to interrupt his train of thought.

“Oh, I didn’t know you still read your school books,” Herman remarked with a combination of hope and suspicion.

Freddie squinted at the page, hoping his father didn’t decide to quiz him on matrix multiplication. Even with an illustration in front of him, he had no clue what the hell a matrix was. “Uh… well, I know I can’t retake the G.O.A.T., but I figured I might as well brush up on—” _Or learn,_ his head amended, “—this math crap.”

Herman strode into the room and took a seat at the foot of the bed. “It’s good to know you haven’t let your brain go to waste with that gang of troublemakers. You know I don’t like you hanging out with those DeLoria and Mack boys,” he chastised. “If anything, you and Chief Hannon’s son would be better off cutting all association with those other two.”

“Dad, is there another reason you’re in my space, or did you just come in to complain about the Tunnel Snakes again?”

His father’s face went stern for a moment before slipping into a more solemn expression. “I just thought I’d catch up with you. I hardly ever see you anymore, what with my new work hours and you gallivanting off with those delinquents and your girlfriend. How is Sienna these days, by the way?”

Freddie blinked at the question. “She’s, um, doing good. Why do you ask?”

“You two have been together for a long time. Almost a year, right? By now, most parents would have met their kids’ significant others—”

“Sienna is… not really the invite-over-to-dinner type,” Freddie told him, imagining her annoyed scowl at the very prospect.

Herman only nodded. “I understand. She’s a different one, I know. At first I was skeptical about how a relationship between you would work out, but I think you’re a good influence on her, son.”

Freddie stared at him in confusion. “Really? How so?”

“Well, she’s always been shy and quiet…”

A stifled snort interrupted him as Freddie restrained himself from outright chortling. Quiet, yes, but Sienna never exhibited any shy traits he could remember, especially when she ordered him around in bed. The memories brought a blush to his cheeks as his father continued talking.

“I remember her tenth birthday like it was yesterday. Sweet kid, but very socially awkward. Kind of like how you were for the longest time.”

“…Thanks, Dad.”

“But Sienna… watching her grow up alongside the rest of you was a little heartbreaking,” Herman declared, his smile sad. “There was always that rift because of her father’s position. Status, you see. Similar to Amata Almodovar’s circumstances, but different enough to affect her development. No mother, a very busy father… hell, your mother and I offered to take Sienna in a few days a week to raise her as a sister figure for you.”

“What?” The very thought made Freddie nauseous.

Herman chuckled at the green tinge to his son’s features. “Yeah, good thing Dr. Bordeaux refused, huh? Her resulting disposition is a shame, though. I hear she’s very introverted and curt now, and that she never learned how to express her emotions properly. That’s why I say you’re a good influence on her. If there’s one person who can change her outlook, it’s you.”

Freddie harbored severe doubts about his presence affecting Sienna’s life to that extent, but the notion did invoke some optimism. “Would be great if I could do all that.”

“Well, you and Paul Hannon. Besides you, isn’t that kid the closest one to her?” Herman asked, rubbing his chin.

Immediate tension wound its way up Freddie’s back. _…Just how close are we talking here?_

“In any case, I’m wishing you two the best.” His father rose and headed for the door, evidently satisfied with the conversation. Before stepping out, he peered back over his shoulder. “Say, you’ve been taking your medication, right?

“Yeah, no worries.”

“Good. Just checking. And also, what’s with that mountain of laundry in front of your closet?”

Freddie glanced at the mess and said, “Just haven’t gotten around to lugging it down to the laundry room. I’ll do it soon.”

After a brief hesitation, the older man accepted the nonchalant excuse. “Okay. Oh, and next time you see your girl, let her know it would be nice if she warmed up enough to come have a meal with us. Tell Sienna she’s always welcome here.”

Once Herman ducked out, a slight chill seeped into the atmosphere that carried his earlier careless words about Paul. Freddie sat paralyzed, intense gaze boring into the opposite wall. He tried to recall Paul’s interactions with Sienna, from their days in school to the present. Nothing stuck out as a red flag, but Freddie never did credit himself as the perceptive type. Neither Butch nor Wally posed substantial threats, mostly because Sienna had made it clear on numerous occasions that she hated their guts. But Paul…

_So… Sienna’s been hard at work with Paul for the past week. But what kind of “work” does that mean, Freddie-boy?_

“God, shut the fuck up,” he snarled in an uncharacteristic fit of temper, pitching his textbook across the room.

But the anxiety endured, spread, and enveloped him. He couldn’t sit still anymore. With the seed of distrust planted, he hopped off his bed and made for the exit, the voice inside him blooming the poisonous vines binding his mind, his heart.

x-x-x-x-x

He loitered a good distance from her apartment, trying to appear inconspicuous as one of his nervous habits surfaced. _Tap, tap, tap._ His foot drummed a steady rhythm on the metal floor of the quiet corridor, and his eyes locked onto the closed entrance. He waited for her door to open, confident in the accuracy of the schedule he had memorized a while back. Five minutes max. Sienna rarely deviated from her punctual daily agenda.

_Tap, tap, tap._

Freddie made a conscious effort to still the tic as he checked the time on his Pip-Boy. A few more minutes. He went over his purpose again and rehearsed his protests to whatever refusal she came up with. His impending request to accompany her to the cafeteria for dinner would likely piss her off, but he planned to stick to his guns during the inevitable argument until she gave in. Thus far, she had declined hanging out in public together due to her workload and antisocial attitude.

He intended to change that today. She could be as peeved as she wanted. But he wanted her in sight.

He _needed_ her in sight.

_Clingy, clingy. Before you know it, you’ll be trying to tether her to you everywhere you go._

“Not a bad idea,” he muttered to himself.

_Yeah? What, you gonna put her on a leash and collar? Make sure the whole damn Vault knows she belongs to you?_

“She does,” he replied mechanically, zoning out.

_Kinky. So what about in private? You finally gonna man up and show her who’s boss? Tie her up, have your way with her?_

Freddie flushed as his groin reacted to that image, and he adjusted the crotch of his jumpsuit, checking to ensure no one saw.

_That turns you on, doesn’t it? Imagining her lying under you and taking your cock as you pound into her. What do you think the ice queen will say to that? Betcha she ain’t for it. You gonna hold her down till she says yes?_

He fidgeted in place, willing his hard-on to recede. It was a fantasy he’d never dared entertain: Sienna relinquishing her superior airs and submitting to him. His unspoken wish for control over her simmered deep in his blood. To watch her proud visage surrender to the throes of passion, that sharp tongue sliding up his shaft as she took him into her mouth… the sheer thought elicited a low groan from his throat.

But knowing Sienna, neither of those things would ever occur.

Unless he _made_ them happen.

And that begged the question…

_How far are you willing to go, Freddie-boy?_

That doused his libido at once. He gulped, refusing to formulate an answer. The progression of his musings lately unsettled him, left him unsure of himself. Boundaries grew fainter each day he spent with Sienna, and alongside his incessant worries lurked the fear that he would abandon all restraint and cross a line. She spurred something primal within him, a craving so volatile that he had to bury it in the far corners of his subconscious.

And then… it was as if she went out of her way to test his willpower.

Freddie’s entire frame stiffened when the door to her apartment slid open, and she walked out with Paul right behind her. She combed her fingers through the tangles of her tousled hair as Paul smoothed out the wrinkles in his Tunnel Snakes jacket. Then he said something to her that prompted a reaction Freddie had never witnessed before.

Sienna smiled.

Not just any smile, either. She absolutely beamed up at Paul, blue irises shining in a manner that both took Freddie’s breath away and broke his heart. As her boyfriend, he had never received so much as a half-grin, and seeing her bestow a staggeringly radiant expression to someone else twisted his insides. He watched as she exchanged a few words with Paul and, in a finishing blow to Freddie’s self-esteem, threw her arms around him in an affectionate hug.

The environment distorted as Freddie’s eyes narrowed to slits. Pressure built beneath his ribcage, where his pulse hammered to a heated crescendo. His legs disobeyed his brain’s command to charge forward and pry the two individuals apart, but his hands clenched into fists when Paul drew away from Sienna and chucked her playfully under the chin. Freddie took a step forward, his blood boiling at their familiarity. And as soon as Paul departed, with Sienna waving after his retreating figure, an unrecognizable voice spilled from Freddie’s lips.

“What the fuck is going on?”

Sienna started, caught off guard by the rough snarl. She turned and spotted him as he advanced on her, a look of uncertainty flitting across her countenance. “Freddie?”

He stopped mere inches away. “Tell me what that was just now. With Paul.”

She visibly bristled and puffed up in indignation. “Excuse me? I think you’re wording that wrong because there’s no way you’d _demand_ something of me, right?”

Refusing to back down, Freddie retorted, “I wanna know why my girlfriend is all tight and cozy with some other dude when she doesn’t even give me the time of day.”

Sienna folded her arms over her chest, a defensive gesture she rarely displayed. “You’ve been pretty daring lately, and you’re walking on thin ice. What I do with Paul is my business, so you’d better watch yourself and check that tone.”

His hand slammed into the metal wall when she tried to move past, issuing a loud clap and sending reverberating echoes down the hall. Something innate overrode his usual apprehension and took control. She stared at his arm blocking her path, seeming stunned at his atypical aggression.

“Baby… you’re the one on thin ice here,” he murmured in a low, heavy timbre.

The threat just beneath the surface of his steady words didn’t go unnoticed. Sienna regarded him with a mixture of shock and calculation, the crease deepening between her shapely brows. A rush of adrenaline smothered his instinct to quake under her gaze, and he loomed over her in another demonstration of the variance in their sizes. She appeared less sure of herself now, having gone silent when confronted with his physical assertiveness. And just when he began to think this was the possible key to breaking through her icy exterior, another presence interrupted them.

“Is everything all right?” Dr. Bordeaux asked as he strode toward them from the direction of the stairwell.

“Just fine, Dad,” Sienna responded, still peering at Freddie.

“Okay, just making sure.” He loitered at the entrance of the apartment, watching them.

Sienna gritted her teeth before whispering, “All right. There _is_ something I want to talk to you about. But later at your place when you’re home alone.”

Freddie frowned and lowered his arm, allowing her to walk by.

She stepped around him, but paused at his side. “And I won’t forget your nerve. You’re going to regret this.”

x-x-x-x-x

The trembling in his fingers caused him to drop the bottle twice before he managed to pry the cap off. Sweat matted his hair to his scalp and rolled down his temple as he shook two pills into his palm. The coldness in his room did nothing to alleviate the overheated temperature that coursed through him. He fumbled with the glass of water and cursed when it dropped to the floor, soaking the carpet.

_Aw, Freddie-boy… just look at ya. What a goddamn mess. Just ‘cause of a few words that bitch said?_

“She’s going to break up with me… she’s going to fucking break up with me…” Freddie lamented hoarsely, picking up the glass. “I went too far. And now she’s going to break up with me…”

_What’s with the panic? This means you’ll be free, man. You’ll be on the market again._

“ _No,_ ” he barked into the quiet space. “There’s no point if it’s not Sienna. She’s the only one. I don’t want anyone else. But I fucked up. She’s pissed as hell. What am I gonna do if she dumps my sorry ass?”

_Jeez, calm down and take a chill pill. No. Not those pills. You’re a wreck. You’re gonna need something else._

Freddie glanced up. His sight drifted to the closet.

_But be honest. Are you fucking surprised? This was bound to happen. Girls like her, they don’t give a fuck about you. They treat you like shit, and when you grow some balls and stand up to them, they kick you to the curb._

He contemplated that and studied the antianxiety meds on his nightstand. “So what the hell am I supposed to do?”

_The only thing you can at this point. Take charge. Retaliate. Turn her world upside down. I mean, come on… what do you have left to lose?_

In the depths of his psyche, a fragile thread finally snapped.

The pill bottles all crashed into the waste bin as he knocked them over with a violent sweep of his arm. He balled up the paper prescription Dr. Bordeaux had written for him and dropped it on top of the discarded medication, kicking his nightstand as an agitated sensation ran through his limbs. Stomping over to his closet, he opened the door and shoved the clothing out of his way. When his hands found the box of Butch’s chem stash, he yanked it out and tossed it to the middle of the room. Packs, bottles, and inhalers spilled onto the floor.

_Now you’re talkin’. Fuck those damn meds. That shit is for pussies. Now this stuff… this is what you want._

Freddie crouched down and went for a pack of Mentats.

_Hold it. Go big or go home, Freddie-boy. Take the Buffout. See the color of those pills? Red’s your color, didn’t you know? Go for the red._

He obeyed automatically, opening a bottle of Buffout and popping a few into his mouth before reaching for another glass of water to wash them down.

_Atta boy. Red and you… now there’s a history. How you feeling? Better, right? Like you’ve let go? It’s ‘cause now you’re sharing the controls instead of trying to pilot the whole damn thing yourself._

He marveled at the quick effects of the drug, experiencing a heightened state he’d never known before.

_Say, man. When Sienna comes over for that "talk," how about you sit back at the sidelines? See how it’s done, learn a thing or two. Let old Red take care of this._


	3. Chapter 3

** Reversal Red **

Twenty-four hours after the confrontation in the corridor, Freddie sat in the stillness of his bedroom with a single desk lamp providing the primary source of light. He stared forward in a slight stupor, the half-empty bottle of whiskey hanging from his hand over the armrest of the chair. Despite the buzz encroaching on the edges of his vision, he remained wired and on edge. The third dose of Buffout from two hours prior saturated his system, mixing with the alcohol to produce a hybrid effect that warped his lucidity. His eyes drifted to Sienna's message still pulled up on the glowing screen of his terminal. Any minute now.

He brought the whiskey back to his lips as he waited, forcing himself to swallow another gulp of the burning liquid. It seared the back of his throat on the way down, but he paid it no heed as he placed the bottle on his dresser and stood, retying the loosening sleeves of his jumpsuit around his waist. He glimpsed the full-length mirror by the bed and noticed for the first time how ripped his arms and shoulders actually looked when he wore a wife-beater. Thinking about it now, he found it ridiculous that this body had succumbed on numerous occasions to the will of a girl half his size.

Never again.

A noise outside drew his attention. He peered expectantly at the doorway, hearing footsteps tread through the otherwise empty apartment. After a few seconds, the door to his bedroom slid open. Sienna appeared, carrying a hefty, sealed box in her arms. Freddie watched her with curiosity but said nothing as she ventured further inside and deposited the box on top of his desk before walking back to shut the door. The stiffness in her posture revealed her lingering displeasure, and she rotated to face him, features tight with vexation.

"You—" She stopped in mid-sentence when her sight landed on the alcohol and chems scattered around the floor. "Wait. What the hell is all this?"

Freddie shrugged, his gaze black. "Coping mechanism?"

She had the audacity to glare at him in disapproval. "I pegged you for someone better than chems, but I guess I was wrong."

His anger flared at the assessment, and he curled his lip at her. "Well, you were wrong about a lot of things. But let's cut to the chase. What did you wanna talk to me about?"

"First of all, this right here," she snapped, gesturing to his entire frame. "You've been acting off for a while now. And I'm getting sick of it."

He gave a harsh scoff, shaking his head. "Seriously? Sick of what? The fact that I grew a backbone after letting you walk all over me for almost a year?"

Sienna's glare intensified. "A week ago you were pleading with me not to dump you, and now this is your attitude? It's not even a backbone, it's… something else."

Freddie sneered, sensing the balance of power shift between them. "You're right. It _is_ something else. It's a shitload of frustration, resentment, and just being _pissed off_ over everything. You act like I'm some kind of fuck buddy instead of your boyfriend, and you go sneaking around with Paul and whoever the fuck else whenever you damn well please. What, is my cock not enough for you or something, Sienna?"

Unexpectedly, some of her ire dissipated. "Is that what you think?"

He hesitated at her reaction, analyzing the genuine surprise in her tone. She sent him a look all too indiscernible, and for a moment, he wondered if he had gotten her wrong. This wouldn't be the first instance where he misinterpreted her actions. However, when she muttered something about wasting her time here, it solidified his resolve.

His fingers twitched as she turned to leave. "Should I up my game? Show you what I've been too much of a wuss to do until now?"

She inhaled sharply at the implication and glanced back at him. "Oh, please. You wouldn't dare."

The challenge spurred him on, and he took the three steps to close the distance between them. Artificial energy pumped through his veins, stifling his inhibitions and the echoes of reason as he reached out to grasp several tendrils of long black hair. She uttered a sound of astonishment when he tugged hard.

"No?" he asked in a dark murmur, enjoying the fleeting panic that skimmed across her expression. "I'm not exactly in my right mind here, so you'd best be real nice to me right now."

Although her frame tensed with quiet alarm, she held her ground. "What's gotten into you?"

He cupped her chin with his other hand, holding her still while he leaned in and grazed her bottom lip with his teeth. "An epiphany. After I spent however long worshiping and licking your cunt… you owe me, Sienna." His tongue darted out and ran over her skin. "And you're gonna give me what I want."

She protested as he crushed his lips to hers, arms pushing against him when he tightened his grip on her tresses. His strength overpowered her meager attempts to shove him off, and a thrill swept over him when she emitted a small whimper at the loss of control. He smiled against her closed mouth, driven mad with carnal desire as she tried to break away. _This._ He'd been waiting for this.

The tables were turning.

Switching.

Reversing.

He yanked on her hair again, forcing her flushed face up toward his leering. "Take a good look, sweetheart. This is the guy you've had wrapped around your little finger. Didn't see this coming, did you?"

Sienna blinked at him wordlessly. He searched her wide eyes, identifying nothing but the ever-present puzzle of her exterior. Even so, he felt the unseen floundering of her mind's gears, everything she'd presented of herself thrown for a loop in the wake of his authoritative stance.

"Got nothing to say now?" he taunted. "Then how about you just moan for me while I fuck you raw?"

"Freddie—"

"Or scream. I've always wanted to hear that."

He backed her into the far wall, pinning her wrists over her head as he used his knee to push her legs apart. She struggled with everything she had, even managing to land a few kicks to his shin, but he suppressed the behavior by flexing the muscles of his thigh against her sex and lifting her slightly off the floor. The movement elicited a short gasp, which turned into frantic, shallow breaths when he ground his kneecap upwards. His hard cock strained against the restrictive material of his jumpsuit and dug into her abdomen as he maintained the harsh grinding motion.

But despite the clear discomfort on her face, not once did she break down and beseech him to stop.

"Come on, not even gonna indulge me in a little begging?" Freddie inquired, using his free hand to undo the knotted sleeves at his waist. "That's okay, I've got a better use for your mouth, anyway."

Sienna remained unresponsive as he pushed down his jumpsuit and boxers, his erection springing free. As soon as he eased up on the pressure of his body over hers, however, she began thrashing anew in an attempt to escape. He grabbed her jaw and moved his other grip to her head, hooking a leg over the backs of her knees to shove her to the floor before him. Once in the kneeling position, she stilled again and glowered up at the throbbing penis dripping pre-cum just inches away.

"This is your last chance, Freddie. Back off now and I'll forgive you for this shit you're pulling," she growled, simmering with hostility.

He snickered incredulously. "You're still making demands from down there, honey? Give it a rest. I'm calling the shots now. So open up and suck me good." He pressed his dick against her lips, fisting both hands into her hair. "And if I feel teeth, _you're_ gonna feel teeth the next time I eat you out."

When she made to answer, he thrust into her mouth without warning. She issued an incensed noise from the back of her throat as he exhaled a slow whoosh of air. The warmth closing over his shaft almost undid him on the spot, but he took his time easing himself in and out, using his hold on her head to meet his unhurried speed. This was a first for both of them, and while her evident inexperience had her fumbling over his length and girth, he understood the appeal of the suctioning sensation at once.

For her part, she cooperated with his instructions to at least avoid biting on purpose, though he found he actually liked the slight edges of her incisors skimming over his flesh. She bobbed back and forth around him with minimal effort, forehead creased in either concentration or resentment. He nudged her arms at her sides with his boot, urging her to make use of her hands. One came up to the base of his cock while the other clutched his sack, and his hips jerked forward when she squeezed a little too hard.

"Easy there. You know, baby, you look good with my dick down your throat," Freddie rasped, grinning between pants as Sienna shot him a venomous glare. "Keep at it. That feels amazing."

Words he never thought he'd speak flowed from his tongue in dirty commands as the wanton need possessed him. When he was sure she wouldn't try anything problematic, he released her hair and planted his palms against the wall behind her. She had picked up her ministrations, probably hoping to get him off so she could leave. He smirked at the idea, but groaned when she lapped at the underside of his member, her fingers simultaneously kneading and tracing the veins. The heat built in his core as tension spread through his abdomen. And when she worked into an effective rhythm, gliding and sucking like a natural, he withdrew from her mouth with a wet _pop_.

"Too close," he grunted and reached down to seize her forearms and yank her to her feet. "You're gonna finish me off right."

Sienna barely resisted as he tore her jumpsuit and undershirt apart at the seams, now watching him with a sullen gaze he ignored. He toted her to his desk and bent her over next to the sealed box, the scraps of her clothing and panties pooled around her ankles. One hand held her in place between her shoulder blades, though she refrained from further squirming as she used her arms to cushion her front against the metal surface. At her continued silence, he paused, remnants of his conscience infiltrating his impassioned delirium. She hadn't said the word "no" at any point, but…

His eyebrows rose when he trailed his fingertips from her backside to her cunt, feeling how wet she was. "Well, shit. What's this? You're freaking soaking. You actually like giving head or you like it rough?"

She turned to peer up at him from the corner of her eye at that latter part, flushing again when realization dawned on his face.

"Damn, Sienna, I never would've guessed. You should've said so from the start because I sure as hell can oblige." He gripped his cock and lined himself up behind her, touching the engorged tip to her moist entrance. "You still on the pill?"

"Yes, so hurry up," came her impatient bark.

He chuckled and smoothed her long hair beside the nape of her neck. "You're gonna have to watch that mouth before I fill it up again," he remarked. "But right now, I wanna see how hard you can take it."

She cried out when he plunged into her, the motion so forceful that it rocked the desk back against the wall. He whispered a ragged oath about how good she felt before pulling almost all the way out and then driving back in. Writing utensils and other small items tumbled from the desk as he grasped her waist and pounded into her, the sounds of gasps and smacking hips filling the room.

Whether he was hurting her or not didn't register with him at that moment, consumed as he was by the lust of power and control. Everything he'd stored and buried came pouring forth, every ounce of spite, frustration, and all his repressed desires. Retaliation had been way overdue, and he was reveling in it with every hot, wet inch of her inner walls. He asserted himself through his rough thrusts, laying siege within the most intimate part of her body to prove his dominance.

And she took it with an enduring degree of dignity, lidded eyes staring off to the side as she kept her shoulders and posture firm. Although she was bending over for him, he saw the residual pride that defined her demeanor, the steel will that refused to break even under the most tumultuous circumstances. Neither of them would leave this room unchanged, but he noticed something else lurking beneath her visage. Even locked in a compliant position and impaled repeatedly by the root of all phallic symbols, she didn't seem demeaned. And then he understood.

No matter what he or anyone else did to her, she would never submit.

Abruptly, his orgasm swept over him, and he clawed at her waist as he drove in deep, spilling his seed inside her. While he found satisfaction in his release and pumped himself a few times more, apprehension returned to nag at the back of his mind. She hadn't reached her peak, but he withdrew without a word, bothered by several factors he refused to mull over. He pulled his jumpsuit back up and held it below his softening shaft, wandering to the other side of the room to grab a discarded towel and wipe himself off. Once he tossed it aside, he slipped unsteady arms through his sleeves and zipped the front.

The legs of the desk slid over the carpet as Sienna straightened, pinning him with a look he dared not meet.

"Freddie," she said in a calm voice, causing his spine to stiffen, "now that you've had your way with me… fix this."

He glanced at her, gulping when she gestured to the trails of semen running down her inner thighs. Swiping a nearby box of tissues, he handed them over and headed to his dresser to grab a spare jumpsuit. It would engulf her noticeably, but they had little choice.

By the time she donned the new clothing and stepped back into her boots, Freddie still hadn't come up with anything to say. He frowned at how collected she appeared, unsure what to make of the lack of cursing or yelling. But when she spoke, his heart stopped.

"All right. We're done. It's over," Sienna declared, adjusting her collar.

He started. "No. No, it's not. You can't mean that."

"I told you to back off, but you kept on going," she pointed out.

No anger, no coldness, just… nothing.

The rage surged up within him again. "What the fuck… you _liked_ it. With your pussy dripping like that, come on, admit it!"

"Doesn't matter how my body reacts. You just did what you wanted. You didn't care what I had to say."

"Like you have any right to talk," Freddie fumed. "You do shit like that every day, pushing me around and making me do whatever _you_ want. Then when I do the same thing, you call foul play? Fuck that. You're a goddamn hypocrite, Sienna."

She stared off in another direction for a few seconds before returning her sight to him. "So this was all retaliation over how you think I treated you?"

"Got that right. I wanted to see if you could take a taste of your own medicine, but whaddya know. You can't."

"I see."

He only grew angrier at her lack of concern. "That's it? So after everything, you're just going to break up with me after all?"

"This relationship has obviously reached its end."

Freddie advanced on her again, though this time he stood a few feet away, fingers furling and unfurling at his sides. "What I did tonight, the reason I went this far… it's your fault, you know. I loved you, I still love you, but you've always been so cold. You don't care about anyone but yourself, so you know what? Whatever. You were gonna break up with me, anyway. At least I proved a point on my way out."

"I wasn't."

"Wasn't what?"

"I wasn't going to break up with you when I came in," Sienna told him.

Freddie's mouth opened and closed before he sputtered, "Yeah, you were! You said I'd regret what happened yesterday. So you were going to dump me, right?"

"I meant you'd regret making an ass of yourself about Paul when I came in to explain what we've been working on. There was never anything between us."

His heart pounded against his sternum as he panicked, second guessing his rashness. "B-bullshit. You were all lovey-dovey with him. And you're not the cuddly type toward anyone."

She sighed as if addressing an errant child. "That's because Paul's been my best friend since childhood. We kept our friendship on the down-low when he got in with the Tunnel Snakes because I'm mortal enemies with your leader. I think of Paul as my brother. We were never romantically involved."

Freddie braced himself on the bedpost as a wave of dizziness washed over him. "Well, what've you two been working on that's so hush-hush?"

"It doesn't matter now, does it?" Sienna asked, lowering her eyes. "You might be right about my callous personality, but I can't excuse what you did here. We're still over."

He dashed after her and clamped onto her wrist when she strode toward the door. "Sienna, wait! Let's talk this out—"

"I… just don't know how to treat a boyfriend. If I was harsh throughout this relationship, I didn't mean to be. We've reached our low point, and it's better to end it now," she said without facing him. "Maybe we both made mistakes here. Maybe we both were wrong, but…"

Everything inside him wrenched when she gently pried her limb from his grasp, and he felt himself choke on the crashing reality as she retreated with irrevocable resolution.

"This is who I am." At the exit, she peered back to send him an expression of genuine sorrow. "And for that, I'm so sorry."

x-x-x-x-x

In the months leading up to Sienna's departure from Vault 101, Freddie was never given the opportunity to talk to her.

And several more months after that, he had given up all hope of ever seeing her again.

He stood in the darkened classroom with the other rebels, listening to Amata send out the distress signal in another attempt at reaching Sienna out in the Wasteland. They'd been at it for… three weeks now? And still, no answer ever came.

Finally, Amata exhaled and sat back, massaging her temples with her fingers. "I'll try again tomorrow. Maybe if I record another message—"

"Just give it up," Freddie snapped with so much acidity that even Butch glanced over. "She's not coming back."

Amata stood from her seat. "Freddie, can I talk to you in the hallway, please?"

"Sure, whatever." He pushed off from his leaning position in one corner and stalked out.

She followed him to the far end of the dim corridor, ignoring the Mister Handy's greeting from the entrance of the clinic. He shoved his hands into his pockets and scuffed his heel on the floor as she came to a halt next to him and crossed her arms.

"You need to stop vocalizing your pessimism about Sienna every time I try to reach her for help," Amata scolded. "Everyone's already getting disheartened about my father winning this tug-of-war, and I really don't need you adding to the low morale."

"I'm just saying," Freddie retorted, scowling at her. "With Paul dead, and me here, she has no reason to come back."

Amata drew in a breath. "Whatever you did to drive her away from you, it was probably horrible. If so, I don't blame her for breaking up with you."

He swore harshly, seething. "Look, she pushed me to my limits, all right? Going around like a stuck-up bitch, saying shit like she just doesn't know how to treat a boyfriend… just… argh." His voice broke as he swiped a trembling hand over his eyes. "But yeah. I shouldn't have done what I did, I know. I really loved her."

"And you have to understand that she really did try," Amata remarked in a gentler tone. Her gaze drifted off in the distance. "She didn't know how to treat guys because… well, let's just say you all weren't her first choice."

Freddie blinked at her in bewilderment. "Huh?"

She brushed at some invisible lint on her sleeve. "Sienna batted for both teams. Ever since we were kids, she knew what she liked. It's just that she preferred girls. And she and I… we were each other's first."

He froze at the revelation. "What… wait, for real?"

"Yep. And the reason she turned out the way she did was that my father found out. And you know the Overseer. Reproduction is key in the Vault, homosexual relationships are frowned upon, and the daughters of two high-status people together would cause a scandal. He gave me an ultimatum: either I cut off my lesbian relations, or he would ruin her father's reputation and standing." Amata winced as if recalling a painful memory. "So I broke her heart. She never knew the reason."

Freddie reeled from the news, bringing a palm to his forehead as a myriad of emotions coursed through him. "I didn't know…"

"She never got over it. Never forgave me, especially when my father influenced others into making snide comments about her sexuality whenever she was out in public. Not many people know this, but the prejudice got bad enough that she was assigned a lower position than what she'd scored on the G.O.A.T. She didn't let me back into her life, but I could see her changing from afar. Over time, she just grew… taciturn. Stony. Icy."

He shook his head, wishing he'd known more about Sienna's background. Almost a year together, and he'd never had a clue. And before she'd even opened up to him, he had squandered it all.

"Freddie, just between you and me, I honestly don't think she's coming back, either," Amata murmured. "After what we—the entire Vault—did to her, you're right. She has no reason to save us."

x-x-x-x-x

Freddie stood in his room later that evening, staring at the box Sienna had left on his desk that last night. He'd never had the courage to open it, but now he approached with a pair of scissors and cut through the tape sealing it shut. Steeling himself, he opened the flaps and dug through the bubble wrap. And when he produced the contents, he couldn't help the rush of emotion that welled up in his throat.

A radio. The exact kind he'd described to her. The one he wanted to play music in his room. The one she'd scoffed at, and yet here it was. A piece of paper sat at the bottom of the box, and he carefully placed the radio aside to read the handwritten note.

_Freddie,_

_I'm no good at things like this, and yeah, I rolled my eyes when you said you wanted a radio, but I just wanted it to be a surprise when I gave this to you. This is what I've been working on all these months, and it's why I'm always down in the electronics room. Paul's been helping me since he's better at engineering and stuff, and that's why you saw him coming out of my apartment yesterday. We were putting the finishing touches on this thing._

_I don't know how to say my feelings right, but maybe it'll be a little easier on paper. Out of all the guys in the Vault, I said yes to dating you because you've always come off as good-hearted and kind. There's an honesty to you that drew me in, and while I'm still working on getting myself together, I'm glad to be with you. You're good to me. I know that, even though I don't always show it. So thank you._

_Love,  
Sienna_

The note fluttered from his hands and settled on the floor as he paced the length of his room, raking his fingers through his hair in anguish. His pulse thundered to a distinct throb, and his entire body tightened with colossal, self-directed fury. He marched to his bathroom, shoulders shaking with sobs trapped in his hollow chest.

_Freddie-boy… you know why this all happened? Why things turned out this way? Huh?_

"Shut up. Just don't talk ever again and leave me the fuck alone."

_You were never meant to keep the girl._

A piercing shatter resonated across the apartment as he smashed his fist into the mirror. Drops of blood seeped from the cuts in his knuckles, but the pain never came. He breathed heavily in the following silence, coming to terms with his own undoing. And then wide, enraged eyes gazed into the fractured glass.

All he saw was Red.


End file.
